Jonathan Lethem to appear in Shanghai (UPDATED)

The American writer is set to give his unedited thoughts at 2666 Library

Posted: Monday September 26 2011 3:42PM

UPDATE: This event has been postponed for now, but 2666 - which recently expanded into the lane house opposite - still hopes to host Jonathan Lethem some time in the next couple of months.

American writer Jonathan Lethem is to give a talk in Shanghai next month. Lethem, famously referred to by the New York Times as a 'genre bender' for the way he straddles styles (from hardboiled crime fiction to autobiography), will appear at 2666 Libraryon September 25.

In a critically acclaimed 22 year career, the bohemian writer has tackled Tourettes, cryogenic prisons and kangaroos. His science fiction is heavily inspired by Philip K Dick, of whom Lethem said: '[he was] as formative an influence as marijuana or punk rock - as equally responsible for beautifully fucking up my life, for bending it irreversibly along a course I still travel.'

Lethem, who once wrote a treatise in defense of plagiarism (The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism, 2007) will hopefully be giving us his unedited thoughts on China. Not to be missed.